Perhaps it’s only because we lost last week and now a victory is more pressing, but going into today’s game at the City of Manchester Stadium it seems there is an even greater desire to win this game than there was seven days ago.
There are plenty of reasons for that. City against Arsenal is not only a clash of football teams, but of philosophies. Whilst we have decided to build through Arsene’s three-fold strategy of promotion, education and integration, cash-flushed City have opted simply for accumulation. Stories this morning that they paid £47m for Carlos Tevez are indicative of just how much money they’ve been prepared to throw around.
Still, we can’t complain, having received some £40m from City for the services of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. Both players have started well, with Toure inheriting the captain’s armband and Adebayor netting three in three.
And there the similarities end, really. There are chasmic differences between the two men, and that’ll be reflected in the Arsenal fans’ response to them: Kolo Toure will be cheered as the loyal warrior he has always been; Adebayor would be advised to play wearing ear plugs. And one of these.
This morning’s interview with Adebayor in the Telegraph is an extraordinary read: justifying the spat with Bendtner; claiming Arsene told him that he was being sold to ease financial troubles; castigating our international fanbase. Adebayor is a great player on his day, but the circumstances required for it to be “his day” are so specific as to render the player dehabilitatingly flakey. A warning to City fans excited by his start: just wait until it all stops going his way.
Personally, I hope that process starts today. Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas are in great form, and if anyone can put a stop to the Togolese’s impressive start then those two should be well equipped to do so. They’ll be flanked by Sagna and Clichy with Manuel Almunia making his first appearance since conceding that penalty at Old Trafford.
In midfield, Cesc Fabregas returns, and he’ll be joined by Alex Song and most likely Denilson as Arsene persists with the 4-3-3. Upfront, Robin van Persie will play with Nicklas Bendtner and one from Eduardo, Diaby or even Eboue. Many will expect Eduardo to play, but after he put in an eighty-odd minute shift against England midweek, I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene opts for one of the others. Tomas Rosicky could be on the bench, which’d be a fantastic landmark in itself.
The absence of Andrey Arshavin will be keenly felt, though City could say the same about their missing South American pair of Robinho and Tevez.
The 3-0 defeat at Eastlands last season was one of the most horrendous games I’ve had the displeasure of watching. We were an absolute shambles that day. Today, many of those players will take to the field hoping for an entirely different result.
Today is a clash of opposities; a meeting of old friends and new enemies. Winning would mean an awful lot. And losing would hurt a similar amount.
Sky Sports News are reporting that Andrey Arshavin will miss the crucial games with Manchester City and Standard Liege after playing ninety minutes for Wales on Wednesday.
If these reports are confirmed, Arsene Wenger is sure to be furious: Arshavin was a serious doubt for the Russians, and whilst he completed ninety minutes (by all accounts playing very well) in Cardiff it seems his groin injury didn’t hold up as hoped.
It’s a real blow, particularly ahead of the City game – after defeat at United last week, a good result against their neighbours is essential to confidence.
At least Cesc Fabregas is back in action – the skipper played and scored for Spain last night in a victory that secured their World Cup Qualification.
I was at Wembley last night to see England thrash Croatia, and was absolutely delighted for Eduardo, who netted a consolation in front of 90,000 fans who spent the entire game haranguing him as a cheat. Whilst he’ll have been gutted by the result, he’s started off on the right foot by responding in the only way his language skills will permit: with goals.
So, I’m back from Poland and it seems not very much has happened. I feel for those who’ve attempted to blog in my absence – had I been online I would have been talking entirely about the quite alarming number and array of pretzels Krakow has to offer rather than anything football-related.
For vehement club fans, International lulls are deathly boring. There’s been no domestic action since Transfer Deadline Day, meaning Burnley fans are still sat on the edge of their seats, waiting for the moment Dave “The Nuge†Nugent finally steps onto the hallowed turf of, well, Turf Moor.
There’s no such unbounded excitement for Arsenal fans, who have only the return to the fold of Philippe Senderos to look forward to. Senderos is set to play a major part this season due to the news that Johan Djourou will miss six months with a knee injury. I find it almost impossible to believe that Arsene knew that Djourou would be unavailable and still neglected to sign a centre-back. Therefore, I can only conclude that in a bid to keep competition for places to a minimum, Djourou disguised the severity of his injury by hiding his grimaces and indulging in a number of knee-related activities in the days before deadline day – skiing, hopscotch, pretending to be a dwarf by walking around with his shoes on his knees etc.
How frustrated Arsene must have been when he realised it was all a ruse and that Djourou was in fact undeniably and violently broken.
Tonight I’ll be at Wembley to see England face Croatia. If you want to spot me, I’ll be the one who isn’t booing Eduardo.
Obviously the Crozilian is in for a hell of a reception, what with him being Lucifer incarnate and all that, but I can’t be the only one hoping that he a) dives b) wins a penalty and c) scores. If the masses have decided he is to be a villain, let him be a footballing supervillain to match the likes of The Green Goblin, The Joker, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
What else happened while I was away… ah, the Chelsea transfer ban. I wouldn’t get too over-excited, as I’m sure their suspension from transfer activity will be halved upon appeal. Intriguingly my Chelsea-supporting (yet somehow not-yet-estranged) brother believes the embargo could prove beneficial: it may offer them the stability they’ve lacked in recent seasons.
Once all our players are back from International duty (riddled with ligament damage, hamstring strains and sexually transmitted infections), we can begin to look forward in anticipation of Saturday’s gigantic game at the City of Manchester Stadium. And we’re playing in it. Would you believe it.
It’s good to be back. Till tomorrow, Gunnerfolk.
Greetings one and all. Or perhaps just one, if the blog’s popularity has plummeted on account of my failure to clock in yesterday.
Let’s revise the greeting to ‘Hello you’, exploiting the ambiguity about whether it’s singular or plural.
So little time has passed and yet so much has happened – most unusual for an international break. First off transfer deadline day came and went, with the main point of discussion being the distinct lack of discussion points. The BBC’s live updates signed off by calling it “the end of an era”, and whilst I don’t know if I’d be prepared to go that far, it was certainly the dullest deadline day in memory.
The big four were conspicuous by their absence, whilst Arsene probably whiled away the hours playing World of Warcraft or some other such irrelevant activity. There were well-connected whispers of an enquiry for Robert Green, but you have to think that any serious interest would have been instigated long before the deadline was about to expire.
In bigger news, Eduardo picked up the expected two-match ban from UEFA. It really is a farce. What makes me angry is that if Eduardo had a) been identified as diving and booked there and then, or even b) missed the penalty(!) then the incident would never have been mentioned again. Honestly, it would have been one line in the match report and that’d be it.
The club’s frustration is perfectly justified – and, might I say, rather eloquently worded:
“We have been deeply frustrated by the perfunctory and apparently arbitrary process that Uefa has followed in this instance. We believe it is imperative that Uefa’s explanation for its decision provides clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced.  It is also critical that Uefa provides specific details of the processes it plans to adopt in reviewing all games under its jurisdiction.”
If Eduardo’s case is to be a template going forward then judgements will be reached not by any committee, but by a hysterical and irrational media.
In better news, Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner have both committed themselves to the club in the long term. Arsene Wenger was delighted, saying:
“Denilson’s contribution to the Club last season was outstanding. His work rate really was exceptional and it is valuable to have players that we know will perform to the very last minute in such a demanding league. I’m pleased that he has committed his long-term future to the Club.
Nicklas has impressed me highly with his application and determination over the last season, you can see that he wants to compete at the highest level and win things with his team-mates. He scored a number of important goals for us last season and he will look to replicate that again this year. However, it’s not just about the goals, his all round contribution has improved and will continue to do so. I’m very pleased that he will be part of the team for years to come.”
Whilst both players have their critics, they are certainly improving, and I don’t doubt they’ll both prove to be (at the very least) useful squad players this season and beyond.
